By JOSH MORRISON

Tribune Staff

COAL GROVE — Known for their powerful rushing attack, the Coal Grove Hornets used a balanced rushing and passing attack en route to a 49-26 win over the South Point Pointers to open Ohio Valley Conference play.

The Hornets rolled up 307 yards on the ground and another 174 through the air for a 481 total.

Fullback Bubba Wood led the way with 104 yards on 10 carries while Greg Bender had 63 on eight tries and Boo Woods 63 on six attempts.

Quarterback Alex Bare was 4-of-5 for 134 yards while Jake Murphy caught three passes for 150 yards.

Not only did Coal Grove go to 5-1 on the season and 1-0 in the OVC, it proved to be a milestone for Hornets’ coach Dave Lucas. The win was No. 200 at Coal Grove against 90 losses. He is 222-98-1 overall.

Coal Grove did not waste any time getting on the scoreboard, as the Hornets took the opening kickoff and marched 62 yards in six plays. The scoring drive was capped off when Bare kept around left end from 6 yards out.

After a penalty on the extra point, the Hornets went for two, and Bender ran in the conversion and it was 8-0 at the 9:51 mark.

“Coal Grove does a good job executing their offense,” said Pointers’ coach Doug Shilot.

After a South Point punt, Coal Grove looked to extend the lead. However, on the second play, Woods was stripped and South Point recovered at midfield.

South Point moved to the Coal Grove 29-yard line, but the Pointers turned the ball over on downs on a fourth down play.

The Hornets added to their lead on the next drive, going 72-yards in 5-plays and was capped off by a 10-yard run by p Wood. The score was set up by a 59-yard pass from Bare to p Murphy. Wood added the extra point, and the score was 15-0 with 1:38 to go in the first.

After a South Point punt to open the second, Coal Grove used the power game with Wood on the next drive. The Hornets started the drive at their own 45 and three straight runs by Wood and a two-point run by Jordan Beals gave Coal Grove a 23-0 lead with 10:49 to go in the half.

The drive was highlighted by a 48-yard run by Wood.

South Point (1-5, 0-1) would drive to answer back with their longest drive of the night. The drive covered 54 yards in 15 plays and took 8:14 of the second quarter clock, but turned the ball over on downs at the Coal Grove 9-yard line.

Coal Grove showed their balance on the next drive as the Hornets used three rushing and three passing plays to add to their lead. Bare hit Murphy on a 51-yard scoring strike and Wood added the extra-point to make it 30-0 at the half.

After a South Point punt to open the second half, Coal Grove marched 79 yards in nine plays capped off by a 19-yard run by Bender. Wood’s extra point made it 37-0 with 6:09 to go in the third.

The Pointers got on the scoreboard on their next drive. Faced with a third down, quarterback Tevin Mitchell found Kyle Dickess for a 61-yard touchdown pass. The conversion failed and it was 37-6 with 4:20 to go in the third.

Coal Grove would put together another long drive on their next possession, going 65 yards in seven plays and was capped off by a 4-yard run by Brandon Hogsten and it was 43-6 at the end of the third.

The drive was highlighted by a 40-yard pass from Rye Goodwin to Murphy on third down.

South Point’s next drive spilled over into the fourth quarter as Dickess found a crease and raced down the sideline for a 90-yard touchdown. Trey Campbell added the two-point conversion, and the score was 43-14 with 11:46 to go in the fourth. Dickess finished the game with 116 yards on seven carries with a touchdown.

After recovering the onside kick try at the 46, Coal Grove scored when Mike Nance capped off the drive with a 14-yard run. The kick failed and it was 49-14 with 10:10 to go in the game.

After a good kickoff return, South Point took over at the Coal Grove 45 yard line. Seven plays later, Larry Brandon found the end zone from 25 yards out and it was 49-20.

After a Coal Grove punt, South Point started their next possession at their own 33-yard line. Three plays later Zach Alberts found the end zone from 18 yards out to set the final score.

Mitchell finished the game with 106 yards on 5-of-9 passing with a touchdown.

“I am real proud of the way our kids responded in the second half, but Coal Grove does a good job of executing their offense,” Shilot said.

“We came out in the third quarter and executed a little better and got some points on the board. The kids did not quit, and I think they matured tonight.”

South Point 0 0 6 20 = 26

Coal Grove 15 15 13 6 = 49

First Quarter

CG- Alex Bare 6 run (Greg Bender run) 9:51

CG-Bubba Wood 10 run (Bubba Wood kick) 1:38

Second Quarter

CG- Bubba Wood 2 run (Jordan Beals run) 10:49

CG- Jake Murphy 51 pass from Alex Bare (Wood kick) :39

Third Quarter

CG- Greg Bender 19 run (Wood kick) 6:09

SP- Kyle Dickess 61 pass from Tevin Mitchell (run failed) 4:20

CG- Brandon Hogsten 4 run (kick blocked) :30

Fourth Quarter

SP-Kyle Dickess 90 run (Trey Campbell run) 11:46

CG- Mike Nance 1 run (kick failed) 10:10

SP- Larry Brandon 25 run (run failed) 6:12

SP-Zach Alberts 18 run (run failed)

SP CG

First downs 10 19

Rushes-yards 40-240 42-307

Passing yards 106 174

Total yards 346 481

Cmp-Att-Int 5-9-0 5-6-0

Penalties-yards 7-42 5-35

Punts-average 2-22.5 1-29.0

Individual Leaders

RUSHING–South Point: Kyle Dickess 7-116, Will Hill 12-39, Larry Brandon 3-28, Tevin Mitchell 9-27, Zach Alberts 2-15, Trey Campbell 2-8, Curtis Jackson 5-7; Coal Grove: Bubba Wood 10-104, Greg Bender 8-63, Boo Woods 6-53, Kyle Estep 2-42, Mike Nance 5-26, Brandon Hogsten 3-13, Jake Murphy 1-7, Alex Bare 1-6, Jake Jewell 1-2, Joe Colley 2- minus 2, Mason Nance 1- minus 3, Jordan Beals 2-4 minus 4.

PASSING–South Point: Tevin Mitchell 5-9-106; Coal Grove: Alex Bare 4-5-134, Rye Goodwin 1-1-40.

RECEIVING–South Point: Kyle Dickess 1-61, Will Hill 2-24, Trey Campbell 1-21, Curtis Jackson 1-0; Coal Grove: Jake Murphy 3-150, Shawn Morrison 1-13, Bryan Steele 1-11.